Movie Review: The Hurt Locker -- 4 out of 5 stars

Jeremy Renner, left, and Anthony Mackie are shown in a scene from, "The Hurt Locker."

Jeremy Renner, left, and Anthony Mackie are shown in a scene from, "The Hurt Locker."

Roger MooreSentinel Staff Writer

Kathryn Bigelow, a director who made her mark on adrenaline-junkie fare such as Point Break, finds her ultimate subject in the men stuck in The Hurt Locker, bomb disposal experts working the deadly streets of Iraq. This beyond-the-headlines war movie, a "ticking clock" thriller from journalist-turned-screenwriter Mark Boal (In the Valley of Elah), is the first Iraq War movie to qualify as more first-rate entertainment than sermon.

Bravo Company has barely 30 days left In Country. Then, Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie, terrific) and Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) meet their worst nightmare. Their new tech, the fellow who runs the robot that checks out suspicious packages, isn't a fan of the "the 'bot." He isn't a take-his-time, "let's be careful out there" type. The moment Will James (Jeremy Renner in a break-out performance) swaggers into harm's way in his Michelin Man bomb-resistant suit, Sanborn gets him.

"Reckless."

Eldridge has seen enough death to become obsessed with it and be blunt: "He's gonna get me killed."

The film entertainingly trots through standard war movie situations and some situations specific to the Iraq War. Every "mission" is a tense race between bomber and bomb squad, which has to outsmart the bad guy before more bad guys -- snipers -- show up. One trip outside their urban operating area turns particularly bloody as the team, joining some British commandos ( Ralph Fiennes is their leader), is caught in a muscle-and-nerve fraying sniper duel in the middle of the desert.

Hurt drags us into one paralyzing trap after another, deadly, sweaty work under the vengeful eyes of a populace staring down from windows above, any one of whom can hold a rifle or a cell phone that sets off the bomb and kills them, suit or no suit. The dynamics of the "unit" may be familiar -- the sergeant determined to keep his men alive, the "grunt" who is under the company psychologist's care. But Renner and the script create a character of surprising depth as James slowly reveals what he is really about, his blind spots.

War movie cliches aside, Hurt Locker is revealing and action-packed, with nervy combat scenes that will make you flinch. And the splendid cast will make you care about soldiers doing the most dangerous job on Earth in the deadliest place to do it.